So Be It
by jayelletee
Summary: (Title may change.) He thought he was manipulating her exactly the way he intended. He didn't know that he would develop feelings for her. Strong feelings. Feelings he had long thought had died inside of him. His name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. (Rating may go up!)
1. Prologue

A loud, ominous boom sounded when a streak of lightning slashed across the dark sky. Ripples of slate clouds rolled along as the rain came down in sheets, drowning all the small plants on the grounds. The wind howled in the leaves of the trees, chasing away any warmth the forest creatures could hold. The moon, shaded by the dismal clouds, could not give out any light of guidance.

Luna Lovegood sat by the window next to her bed, tracing the trickling rain on the pane with her fingertips. A clear line trailed behind her finger as she drew the shape of a heart on the fogged windowpane. Sitting back and viewing her handiwork, she leaned forward again and blew a light draft to erase the marking. She pulled her legs into her and wrapped her arms around them, keeping all the body heat left in her to herself as she had already lost much to the cold, stone sill she was sitting on. She heaved a sigh and watched the trees in the Forbidden Forest dance to the wind and rain. She wondered what it was like to be one of those trees, so still yet so lively. No one in the world would judge what a tree looked like. It could change colour, and people would think it beautiful. It could shed, and the snow would envelope it in its glory. It could bud, and the birds would sing its celebratory song. If only she could be a tree...

Slowly, she let her legs unfold and stepped off the windowsill. She tiptoed to her bedside table and took off her Butterbeer cork necklace. She climbed into her bed and drew the starry, blue curtains close. Lying down, she stared up at the ceiling and thought of tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe...

A/N: Yes, indeed I am attempting at another fic. I probably shouldn't be but this has been in the works for a while. I'm the most proud of this piece because I've tried my hardest to stay true to all the characters and facts Jo created. Feel free to let me know if I got anything wrong or if you feel any of my main characters are straying from who they are. I have a few more chapters ready to go up but I won't post it until I get a good feeling about where this is going (as in feedback and whatnot) so please let me know!


	2. The Pensieve

The Pensieve

Luna woke up to a shriek in the room. She sat up and pulled apart the curtains to find the girl who occupied the bed next to hers jumping up and down on her bed and pointing at something scuttling across the floor.

"Someone get it! Kill it before it gets away!" she screamed at whomever willing to listen.

Luna got up and knelt down next to the small, black spider. She laid her palm down and coaxed the spider to crawl on. She lightly fingered it playfully and turned to smile at everyone. "It's just a spider. That's all." She opened the window and lightly placed it on the outside wall. Run, she thought. Luna watched the spider scurry away before closing the window.

"Gross! You actually touched it." The girl grimaced at Luna. "Go wash your hands before you come any closer," she demanded.

Not wanting to cause more people to be woken up by the girl's shrill voice, Luna obeyed and exited the chamber. Entering the lavatory, she stood in front of her reflection and stared at the girl in the mirror. She didn't think herself ugly. Bland perhaps, but not terribly awful. She sighed and leaned forward to gaze into her mother's blue eyes. Pushing aside a rather painful memory, Luna began to prepare herself for the day ahead.

Coming out of the bathroom, Luna saw her group of roommates huddled next to Matilda Gum's bed stifling their giggles. Luna smiled a soft morning greeting at them and went to her bedside table to put on her Butterbeer caps necklace and her Dirigible Plum earrings. Luna tried to ignore the girls' stare and bent to fetch her books from her trunk. Rummaging through, she found her special edition of The Quibbler No. 100 missing. She turned her protuberant eyes on the girls and their group quickly disbanded, trying hard to keep a straight face. "Could you have seen—"

"No!" Matilda, the girl afraid of spiders, cut her off. "Honestly, you don't think we would take YOUR things?" She threw her head back to laugh jeeringly.

"I wasn't going to say so. I just wanted to ask if you had seen it." Luna appeared unaffected by Matilda's curtness.

"Well, no. Satisfied?" She glared down at Luna, who was almost a head shorter.

Luna nodded yes and tucked her wand behind her ear for safekeeping. Leaving her roommates to their own speculation of why she didn't press further, she exited the room for the Great Hall.

Entering the noisy hall, she couldn't help but stop to smell the sweet scent of syrup swimming in the air. Luna looked up to find the sky still stained gray from last night's storm. Sighing, she sat down at the end of the Ravenclaw table to enjoy her breakfast. Not even three minutes into her eggs, Ginny Weasley, a pretty redheaded Gryffindor, approached her.

"Good morning, Luna! How were your first weeks of school?" Ginny sat down across from Luna, smiling widely.

"It's been alright. I have been starting to lose a few things though." Luna's misty eyes lowered back down to her eggs.

"You ought to tell the Headmaster of all this stealing and hiding. Some justice should be done!" Ginny's nostrils flared in her anger, then she recalled, "Which reminds me that I was asked to give you this." She slid a small, folded note across the table to Luna. "I'll see you in Potions!" With that said, she got up and headed back to her Gryffindor table.

Luna looked down at the thin, slanting writing on the scroll Ginny had passed her. Opening it with curiosity, Luna read the note quickly. Her eyes grew even wider.

Why would the Headmaster want to see me?

Finishing her breakfast, Luna hurried to the seventh-floor corridor where the gargoyle stood against the wall. She looked down at the note again, checking for the password. "Acid pops!" The gargoyle leaped aside, revealing a moving spiral staircase. She stepped on and watched as she was being brought closer to the door with the brass knocker. Before she could even reach it, the door opened.

"Ah, yes, Luna!" The Headmaster looked down at the dirty blonde-haired girl, smiling pleasantly. "I'm sorry but you'll have to excuse me." His expression appeared rather excited, his electric blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "There's been a slight argument between… Well, I shouldn't bore you with such matters." He held the door open. "In the meantime, make yourself at home. This shouldn't take long." He ushered her in and then turned to leave but stopped. "I must say I'm glad Harry brought this to my attention."

"About the argument?" Luna's eyes fogged over with confusion.

"No, about the management of your," The Headmaster scratched the side of his face with his long finger, searching for the right word, "effects."

Luna immediately noticed his gray hand. She wondered if it was a new trend to dye one's hand a different colour and vowed to try later that night. However, her Headmaster's hand did not only appear to have a different colour. It seemed to looked shrivelled and meatless. The bones were protruding through the tight, wrinkled skin and the knuckles looked to have a bad case of rheumatoid arthritis.

He looked down through his spectacles at her, mirth dancing in his eyes. "I've always thought if it's yours, no one can take it from you." He winked before he let the door shut between them.

For some reason, Luna felt that the Headmaster meant more than just what he said. Gray hands a history, she sat down in front of his desk and couldn't help but admire the magnificent beauty of the phoenix, Fawkes, standing on the golden perch beside the door.

Harry must have told the Headmaster about her having to put up a notice to recollect her things, thought Luna. She smiled at the act of kindness. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, rumoured to be the Chosen One, destined to kill He Who Must Not Be Named, and who probably has more on his mind than everyone combined in this school actually took the time out to mention the indecency acted upon her to the Headmaster. Her smile widened.

Unable to sit still any longer, Luna got up and wandered around the room, gazing at all the shiny trinkets cluttering the tables and the pictures of past Headmasters and Headmistresses snoozing on the wall. Then she came across a black cabinet near the front of the room. Odd choice of colour, Luna thought. She gazed about the room. All upholstery was either a startlingly bright colour or lustrously golden. She couldn't seem to understand why this particular cabinet was a dull, muted black. Curiosity taking over her, she opened the cabinet.

She was blinded at first, not expecting the soft glow radiating from a shallow basin from within. The contents of the basin mesmerized Luna. It was a bright, whitish silver substance that moved continuously. She couldn't tell though whether the substance was liquid or gas. Intrigued, she bent over to take a closer look. With a yelp, Luna felt herself being thrown head first into the silvery substance. She tried to grab the closest thing her hand could reach but the cold, metal surface she grasped slipped from her small hands and soon she found her feet smacking forcefully onto a very familiar set of marble staircases.

~.~

A/N: I know there are many stories on here that involves the Time Turner when it comes to time traveling. I had a difficult time trying to come up with something new. I'm not sure if there's any other stories out there that used this method but for me, this is the first. I also had a difficult time trying to come up with a reason as to how the rest of this story continues just by entering a memory in the pensieve. Hopefully what I came up with as you read along is enough to satisfy you clever readers. Enjoy the first chapter!


	3. First Encounter

First Encounter

A/N: I had to change some facts revealed in HBP for the purpose of my story. I will preface each chapter telling you what I've changed so as not to confuse you. The death of Mrytle occured in Tom Riddle's fifth year but he didn't start making horcruxes until the beginning of his sixth year. I rearranged the timeline so that Mrytle's death occurs in his sixth year also, right before he made his first horcrux: the diary.

Luna looked around and found herself standing at the top of the marble staircase leading into the Entrance Hall. Next to her was a tall wizard with long, sweeping auburn hair and a similarly coloured sweeping beard that was tucked into a belt tied around his waist. The man looked oddly familiar to her, but she couldn't pinpoint an exact name on him. She stepped round in front of him to get a closer look.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Luna's jaw dropped when her eyes met the same twinkling blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles. Aside from the hair colour change, the lack of wrinkles and the absence of the unusual gray hand, this man was the exact replica of her Headmaster.

"What are you doing, wandering around so late, Tom?" The Headmaster spoke out.

Luna's eyebrow knitted into confusion. Late? Wasn't it only seven thirty in the morning? She was just at breakfast in the Great Hall before being called up to the Headmaster's chamber. She looked to the window in the stone wall and saw that night had indeed already fallen. What was going on? She looked around and found to whom he was talking to. A tall, black haired boy around the age of sixteen stopped in his tracks. His dark green eyes caught hers then flew to Dumbledore's.

"I had to see the Headmaster, sir," the boy said.

Luna couldn't help but find herself more confused. Wasn't Dumbledore the Headmaster? Before she could clarify, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Well, hurry off to bed. Best not to roam the corridors these days. Not since…" He sighed heavily before striding off.

Luna hesitated, looking between the boy and the Headmaster. The boy's brooding eyes were fixed on her. She felt the hairs on her arms rise just being under his stare. Not wanting to stay around him any longer, she took a few swift steps after her headmaster and called out, "Professor!"

But to her dismay, the wizard paid no heed. "Professor Dumbledore!" she called again. Once more, he did not answer.

"Professor!" This time, the boy spoke.

Dumbledore stopped and turned around. "Yes, Tom?"

The boy looked pointedly at Luna, indicating her presence to the wizard but the professor seemed to look right through Luna. The boy noticed this at once. "Goodnight, sir."

Dumbledore smiled, though with great difficulty, and bade him goodnight. Once he was out of sight, the boy whipped out his wand and aimed it at Luna threateningly. She gasped, not anticipating the boy's reaction.

The boy named Tom advanced forward, holding Luna's chin up with his wand. "Who are you?"

It was a simple question yet said with such power and demand. She was usually impervious to the taunts and teases she faced at Hogwarts from her fellow pupils. She felt that they were simply words and meant no harm other than to crack a joke. This did not apply here. His words were meant to harm. They were meant to control her and make her feel how much more powerful he was compared to her and how easily he could dominate her. She could do nothing but answer, "Luna." Her wide, misty eyes did not blink. They were frozen in fear. "Luna Lovegood. I'm a fifth year Ravenclaw," she stammered at a barely audible volume.

Tom's eyes narrowed, not completely convinced by her answer but saw that her robes matched her reply. "Why can't the Professor see you?" His voice was still thick with suspicion.

Luna blinked finally. He couldn't see her? "I don't know," she said dumbly. Her hand reached up to finger her necklace nervously. She made no move to reach for her wand.

Tom's suspicion only grew at her answer. He moved his wand to lower her hand and stepped closer to look at the object she touched.

Luna's heart began to pound thunderously as he neared. His pale face was arranged serious. Cheeks were sunken, yet his entirety was quite handsome. Who was this boy? Luna urged herself to speak. "And who are you?" she asked shakily, no where near in confidence as he had asked her.

The boy's eyes snapped up from the caps to look at hers. "Thomas Marvolo Riddle. Sixth year Slytherin." He straightened his robes so that his prefect badge caught the light from the torches.

Luna glanced down at the badge. She felt a little more at ease knowing the school trusted him enough to name him prefect. "He couldn't see me?" She began to regret ever opening the black cabinet. Something caught by the dim torch lights gleamed on Riddle's left hand and she noticed it was a rather large ring. The ring was gold and a black, octagonal stone was set in the middle of it. Something was engraved in the center of the black stone but she couldn't make out what it was in the dim light. The ring looked oddly familiar to her but she couldn't place where exactly she'd seen it before.

"I just asked you that didn't I?" Riddle dropped the hand holding his wand but did not put it away. He stood there staring at Luna's Butterbeer caps necklace. His gaze was unfocused and had drifted to her plum earrings. He appeared to be thinking. His eyes darkened, turning into a deep, forest green, as his mind searched for the answer. Finally, he pulled his eyes up to meet her in a cold glare. "You weren't there a moment ago. Where did you come from?" he asked sternly.

Luna thought for a moment. She was unsure if she answered honestly she would come off loony. She was also unsure if what she thought had just happened happened at all or was just in her head. She came up with what she thought was the most suiting answer. "The Headmaster's office." It was the last clear memory of what she was certain had happened.

Riddle didn't look convinced. "I was just there and I didn't see you. Don't lie to me!" He seethed, his nostrils flared in anger.

Luna immediately cowered back from the invisible force of fury she felt radiating off of him. She had shrunk down into herself as if it was any way to protect her from him. "I'm not lying," she whimpered.

"Look at me!" He commanded.

She hesitated. She tried to resist, afraid of what might his stare make her do. Perhaps make her spill forth what illusions she had seen and felt just minutes ago. Unfortunately, his words were almost physical. She could feel his energy pulling on the back of her neck to make her look up. She gave in and cautiously met her eyes with Riddle's.

He stared into them, gauging if she had been lying. After what seemed to be centuries to Luna, he finally broke the staring contest. He seemed to believe her for he said nothing but, "Follow me." He turned unceremoniously and went up the stairs on the right.

Luna didn't move, doubtful of what had just happened.

"Did you not hear me?" Tom had stopped and was now looking down at her condescendingly.

"Where are we going?" Luna really didn't want to admit it. She thought if she did admit it to herself, it would just make it that much more horrifyingly true. Yet the fear Tom Riddle generated around him was unstoppable.

Was this the same school she has been to for four years now? How come she felt the corridors were darker and danker than she remembered? It was as if the warmth from the torches could not reach her. The layout of the school was still the same but she could not help but feel lost.

And this Tom Riddle. She did not feel the heat from the fire of the torches but she felt the heat of his body when he had neared her. All her senses seemed heightened to him but dulled to the environment. There was something about this Riddle that made Luna no doubt fear him but at the same time lured towards him. Perhaps it was because she could only feel the warmth off of him and nothing else. No matter how much warmth she felt off of him, she had to stay cautious. This was no longer the Hogwarts she knew.

"Follow and you shall see." He gave no room to argue. He turned and continued the way he had started, not turning around again to make sure she was following, as if he knew she would. He was right.

The halls were empty. Aside from the occasional prefect patrolling the halls, it was just the two of them. That made Luna very nervous. She didn't dare take her eyes off his back, afraid that he would suddenly decide against his previous judgement and turn on her with his wand.

She stared at the flow of his robes, mesmerized by the fluidity of it as if it were floating on the air around him. As concentrated as she was, she almost did not feel her head bump against something smooth and hard. Looking up, she found herself staring into the pair of deep, forest greens. She backed up quickly. "Sorry," she mumbled, blushing softly.

Tom Riddle's eyes grew from severe to wary. Blushing wasn't a reaction he had expected from her towards him. It was usually a run for the other direction when it came to other students. His natural aura generally deflected people from having any interest in him, though Dumbledore seemed to be a rather large exception.

He waited for her to recover then looked purposefully at the door, if you could call it a door. It was more of an expanse of aged wood with nothing but a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

Luna looked confused. Why had he brought her to the Ravenclaw Tower? "Why are we here?" she asked, curiously.

A small smirk began to play on the boy's pale lips. It was finally something Luna saw on him other than a grim expression. "You said you were a Ravenclaw." His gaze was penetrating. "Now prove it."

A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed it and that I get more feedback so I'm motivated to keep going! Thanks guys!


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